Djokovic stunned; Nishikori, Cilic win

 

Two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic was sent crashing out of Wimbledon by big-serving Sam Querrey on Saturday, shattering his hopes of securing the first calendar Grand Slam in 47 years.

The world No 1, bidding for a fourth Wimbledon title and 13th major, suffered his earliest loss at a Slam since the 2009 French Open.

The 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) defeat, played out after an overnight suspension and two further lengthy rain interruptions, also ended Djokovic's Open era record run of 30 successive wins at the majors and his streak of having reached 28 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals.

American 28th seed Querrey, the world number 41, goes on to face 34-year-old Frenchman Nicolas Mahut for a place in the quarterfinals.

 

NISHIKORI EASES PAST KUZNETSOV

With minimum fuss Japan's Kei Nishikori brushed past Andrey Kuznetsov 7-5 6-3 7-5 to advance to a fourth-round showdown with Marin Cilic.

The fifth seed won 7-5 6-3 7-5 to the delight of a patient contingent of Japanese fans who had sat wrapped up against the drizzle on Court Three through a lengthy break between the second and third sets.

Nishikori, 26, beat Kuznetsov in straight sets in the second round at the French Open and once again the swashbuckling Russian, 25, failed to find a way to counter the Japanese player's baseline aggression and solid defence.

He broke Nishikori's service in the third set after a first rain delay to go 3-0 up but lost his own after a second shorter pause and, racking up the unforced errors, never got back on top.

Nishikori next meets ninth seed Cilic who beat him in the 2014 US Open final. Although Cilic dashed his hopes of a first Asian men's grand slam title, Nishikori has a 7-3 advantage over the tall Croatian in head-to-heads.

 

CILIC EDGES QUALIFIER LACKO

Lofty Croatian Marin Cilic made short work of Slovak qualifier Lukas Lacko, finishing their rain delayed third round match 6-3 6-3 6-4 with nine aces in the final set.

The 2014 US Open champion had already wrapped up two sets when rain set in on Friday and he was clearly in no mood to mess about on a blustery Court 12.

The 6-foot-6 (1.98-metre) ninth seed pummelled Lacko from both sides of the court, winning 98 percent of points on his first serve.

He clinched with his 19th ace, wrapping up the match in and hour and 49 minutes.

The 27-year-old will next meet either fifth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan.

 

ZVEREV FIRES WAY INTO THIRD ROUND

Teenage tennis starlet Alexander Zverev became the last man through to the third round after a marathon victory over Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny.

Germany's Zverev, 19, the youngest player in the top 50, won 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 in three hours and 19 minutes on Court 8 in a match that was halted for a final time due to rain on Friday with Zverev 2-1 up in the final set.

Zverev, the 24th seed, last month became the youngest man to enter the top 30 since world number one Novak Djokovic back in 2006.

World No 28 Zverev faces Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych in the round of 32.

"With Sascha I was playing some good battles," said Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up.

"All of them went on the good side for me, but obviously he's a young kid and he's improving week by week.

"So it's not going to be easy at all. The fact that he's playing one of the first years on the grass, he's very talented and well experienced to know how to deal with that. So that's going be a big one."

Berdych has won all three of their previous encounters.

The 30-year-old said his battle plan was: "Just being ready, being focused, being able to stick with my plan, dictate the game. That's going to work."

Zverev is from a tennis family: his father, also called Alexander Zverev, played for the Soviet Union in the Davis Cup, while his older brother Mischa, 28, is the world number 152.

The German number two proved his ability on grass last month when he knocked Roger Federer out of the semifinals at Halle before losing to compatriot Florian Mayer in the final.

He was the first teenager to beat Federer since Andy Murray did so 10 years ago.

On clay, the right-hander finished runner-up at Nice in May then reached the third round of the French Open in his fourth Grand Slam appearance.